


Somewhere Only We Know

by ellewrites



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: A little angst, Alternate Universe - High School, First Time Sex, M/M, Mostly Fluff, baby bruce banner is a hopeless romantic, baby tony stark wants that d, some canon-similar abusive parenting backstory, yeah i'm back on my bullshit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-10-14 11:03:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20599703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellewrites/pseuds/ellewrites
Summary: He had resolved when he bought the truck to make senior year as good as he could and that was all part of his plan. Not fixing it up – though that had been an unexpected bonus. Getting to spend all that time alone with Tony, flirting over timing belts and kissing under carburetors and watching countless YouTube tutorials and eating lunch together two or three times a week was so much more than he was expecting. But that hadn’t been why he bought the truck – no. Bruce had other plans for senior year.





	Somewhere Only We Know

**Author's Note:**

> As with just about everything I write, this is loosely grounded in the truth. The idea here is based on a plan an ex of mine and I had in high school that we never followed through on so guess I gotta live vicariously through fan fiction AGAIN. Shame. Also, Tony’s Audi story is nearly word for word what a coworker told me in high school so... yeah. Thanks to Sally for the prompt that reignited this idea in my head!

When Bruce bought the beat-up pick-up for five hundred bucks and brought it home to live in the driveway just about everyone was pissed off about it. 

Namely his dad, but he expected that. There was essentially nothing that wasn’t going to piss him off, but Bruce picked his battles and he creeped around, hiding in shadows and skirting around the house to be of as little consequence as possible. So when he finally did have to go to bat for something, he hunkered down and fought with all his might. And this time even his mom came to his defense.  _ Let him fix it up _ , she said.  _ It’ll teach him some useful skills _ , she said.  _ He’s going to be a senior next year and he needs a little freedom _ , she said.  _ He’s not asking for any money. _

The neighbors weren’t any more impressed, convinced it was going to become a neighborhood eyesore that would live in the driveway permanently, sadly rusting until it fell apart. He heard them mutter about it while he worked as they walked their little dogs past the house that was barely maintained, understanding their negativity but not affected by it. Bruce had fought for that truck and he had a plan. It was definitely going to run again.

Tony laughed and couldn't hide his sneer. He didn’t mean to be an ass but Tony lived in another dimension than Bruce. When he turned sixteen he was gifted a brand new Audi A3. And while Bruce logically understood that $35k wasn’t a lot to spend on a car for someone who had $35k to throw around, Tony’s little spiel about how his dad was  _ going _ to give him his old S4 but he was already at the dealership buying his mom a new S7 and that wasn’t  _ fair _ shouldn’t he just trade in the S4 and get him a  _ new _ one was singularly mind-boggling. 

Still, when Bruce asked Tony if he would help him get the truck running again, Tony gave him a big grin and an enthusiastic  _ hell yeah _ and because they were in the driveway and not the relative privacy of literally anywhere else Tony gave him a high five instead of the kiss Bruce would have preferred. But he already fought for the car – he wasn’t going to be able to get away with anything near as big as a boyfriend – so he let it go. 

Every other day during the summer when Bruce wasn’t scrounging together odd jobs from the neighbors mowing grass and installing light fixtures for old ladies to buy engine parts, Tony would come over after the first session of two-a-days and sit in his driveway with him and they would pop the hood and argue about whether this or that was broken or not and crawl underneath to share sweaty and clandestine kisses out on the warm concrete. Then when they would get frustrated and tired Tony would take them out somewhere for a late lunch before he had to go back to the football field and they would lock ankles under the booth and talk about what they needed to make it run and who was going to get chewed out by coach for not showing up for the morning practice.

There was only a week left of summer by the time Bruce put the key in the ignition and the truck turned over and sparked to life. Tony was with him and he whooped and hollered and ran over to the open door smacking a quick kiss on a shell-shocked Bruce’s lips and wrapping him in an enthusiastic hug. He blushed scarlett and hoped no one saw but he couldn’t help the way he grinned at Tony grinning back at him. 

Although there was still a little work to be done to get it running well, it was pretty clear Tony thought their little summer project was over and he put it out of his mind as he focused on SAT scores and the upcoming football season. Bruce wasn’t too worried about school – he never worried about school. It was the one thing in his life he could consistently nail and just his leisure reading was enough to keep him ahead of the curve so he listened to Tony complain about his parents wanting to have him do SAT prep courses and send him to running coaches to try to shave a few seconds off his time here and there with half an ear – only worried about where Tony would end up. He would apply to all the same schools Tony did and he would probably get into all of them too – but if Tony went Ivy League, it was going to be hard for Bruce to follow. He didn’t want to start his life with a mountain of insurmountable debt. 

So sometimes at night alone in his room he’d hunker down in his sheets and try not to hyperventilate thinking about just how much he loved Tony and just how far away Tony was going to go. The few times he brought it up, Tony would laugh and smile and say something placating like  _ I got you babe _ but what did that mean? They were in high school. It was ridiculous to expect they were going to be together forever. But as much as the thought of his life without Tony terrified him, the thought of holding Tony back by forcing him into a community college because that’s all he could afford depressed him even more.

He had resolved when he bought the truck to make senior year as good as he could and that was all part of his plan. Not fixing it up – though that had been an unexpected bonus. Getting to spend all that time alone with Tony, flirting over timing belts and kissing under carburetors and watching countless YouTube tutorials and eating lunch together two or three times a week was so much more than he was expecting. But that hadn’t been why he bought the truck – no. Bruce had other plans for senior year. 

Football wasn’t really his thing – which came as a surprise to exactly no one. But he often found himself hanging around the bleachers on game nights, watching number thirty-three run the ball down fifty yards to make a touchdown during the last thirty seconds of the fourth quarter to tie the game and feeling his heart swell. The crowd would go wild and whenever Tony pulled off one of his exceptional plays, Bruce could practically hear the girls swoon as the band played and he would just lean into the diamond shaped fencing and grin as the other guys put their hands all over him in celebration. 

That was his – all his. Maybe only a handful of people knew and they could never hold hands or kiss in public but it didn’t matter because Tony was his. He was  _ his _ . 

Bruce would leave before the parking lot got packed and text Tony good game and compliment some little thing about a play he made to show him he’d been there, knowing that the next time Tony came to pick him up he would drive out of the neighborhood and down the street until they were hidden away from prying eyes then kiss him absolutely senseless.  _ You came _ , he would say, genuinely surprised every time, and Bruce would bite his lip on a grin and kiss him back. 

But this time he took his beat up old truck to the back lot on Friday night where he knew all the football players parked and would leave to find their cars after being let out of their post game review or whatever it was they did and waited. 

He wasn’t too concerned about what the other guys would say if they saw him there, though he figured Tony might be, and he belatedly hoped he’d forgive him. Bruce knew a couple of the guys on the team knew about them anyway since, for better or worse, they were some of Tony’s closest friends. But Tony didn’t really care about that – what he  _ did _ care about was their relationship getting back to Howard and having every inch of his freedom ripped from him in an attempt to tear them apart. Bruce might have been offended, but he was just as scared of his own dad finding out about them and beating him to within an inch of his life.

Still, he parked a little out of the way so that he wouldn’t be obvious but Tony recognized him immediately as the players filed out nearly an hour later and he came up alongside the driver’s side and gave Bruce a tentative smile through the open window, laughing uncertainly. 

“What are you doing here?” 

Tony was wet with what Bruce knew had to have been a hasty shower and he was clearly tired and he put a bruised up hand on the door and Bruce touched the edge of his finger tips. 

“Come spend the night with me.” 

It was rare over the course of their nearly year long relationship that Bruce really caught Tony off guard. Oh he surprised him plenty – but that was because despite Tony's fantastically large ego he struggled to believe anyone genuinely loved or cared about him. So any time Bruce did something nice, Tony was surprised. But to actually, truly catch him completely off guard? Bruce wasn’t sure he’d ever done that before. 

“You want me to go to your place?” Tony asked, incredulous, and Bruce smirked. 

“No.” 

“But you know we can’t go to mine – my dad hates you. It’s not worth the –”

“No, Tony,” Bruce cut him, a little affectionate smile on his face as he rubbed his fingertips. “I’ve got another idea."

Tony’s lips quirked up and fell a few times, clearly wanting to buy into the confidence Bruce was exuding but not sure what to make of it. 

“I don’t have anything with me and –”

“I’ve got you covered,” he said, patting a bag in the seat next to him and giving Tony a smile that he knew was akin to extortion. “Say yes.”

“I – I mean,” Tony laughed airily and Bruce could see his resolve crumbling beneath the weight of something he knew Tony wanted just as badly as he did. “What would I tell my parents? I can’t tell them I’m at your place – my dad would be so pissed.” 

“Wouldn’t Steve cover for you?” 

Tony stood up on his tip toes and looked over the cab of the truck to the parking lot beyond to see if he could see Steve and then he popped back down to give Bruce a big grin, balling his hand into a fist and popping it on the door. 

“Be right back!” 

Bruce watched through the passenger window as Tony jogged over and grabbed Steve’s arm and they talked for a minute, Steve's face concerned but Bruce watched as he relented. Then Tony was rushing back to the pick-up and throwing open the passenger door, dropping his own bag on the floor as well as the bag Bruce brought with him as he slid into the seat. All of Tony's exhaustion had been replaced with nervous excitement and Bruce absolutely risked it and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tight in lieu of laying one on him the way he really wanted to. 

“Steve says I owe him one so this better be worth it,” Tony joked but he was grinning from cheek to cheek so Bruce didn’t care. He didn’t bother to grace that with a response though as he shifted the truck they put together into drive and peeled out of the parking lot. 

They had both wanted this for a long time. The complete lack of privacy they had was difficult to begin with – Tony had been in his house briefly a handful of times for a drink or something and Bruce had been in Tony’s even less. But at least Tony had a car and they could make out after school down some abandoned road, enjoy a little heavy petting and masturbate when they got home, drive out to a secluded park or something on the weekends and try to give each other bad but enthusiastic blow jobs across the center console. Still, the lack of privacy was difficult and Bruce didn’t really think anyone could blame him for wanting some time to really enjoy Tony before he went off to college, inevitably leaving him behind.

But even more than sex or whatever, what he wanted to fall asleep with him. He was tired of leaning back in the passenger seat, stroking Tony's hair and smiling at him, practically a hundred thousand miles away for all intents and purposes. He was tired of going to bed alone when he knew Tony was alone too, wanting to be held just as badly. He was tired of never being able to be  _ with _ Tony, not the way he wanted, and he didn’t care if it did take him the whole entire summer and a couple thousand dollars of hard work to make it happen – he was damn sure going to get a few nights with him. 

“Where are you taking me?” Tony asked as he looked around at the relative nothingness surrounding them while Bruce stopped at a light, wishing for a moment that they were in Tony’s tiny coupe where he could just lean over and kiss him, not a lightyear away on the truck’s bench seats. 

“You’ll see,” Bruce replied, hoping Tony couldn’t see how he blushed in the dark.

Bruce knew his plan was a little weird and ridiculous but then... How many times had Tony tried crawling into his lap in those sticky leather seats, covered in sweat and kissing him hard and pressing their hips together.  _ I would give anything to be with you for just one night _ , he would whisper, his lips trembling against Bruce’s own.  _ I want to be with you so goddamn bad _ , he would cry, his arms wrapped tight around Bruce’s neck.  _ Just wanna fall asleep together, just once, just like this _ , he would sigh, his head tucked up against Bruce’s neck, curled up in some impossible position just to be close to him. 

He had to believe Tony wanted it bad enough that he would see this for the romantic gesture that it was – because if he didn’t, Bruce knew for sure his heart would break.

When he pulled up into the hill-side construction site Tony started to laugh. It was about twenty minutes out of the suburbs where they lived and new developments were popping up all over, taking advantage of the sprawl and one of the highest points in the area. Bruce drove way out to the end of where they’d laid fresh gravel and the foundations had just been poured. Trees had been taken down, opening up the skyline, and he parked in a flat area likely meant one day for a driveway and Tony looked at him like he was crazy. 

“Where are we?” he asked as Bruce turned off the engine, smiling over at him in the dark. 

“Somewhere no one will find us,” he replied with a smirk that he hoped looked about ten times more confident than he felt as he got out of the cab. 

Tony laughed again, nonplussed, as he followed Bruce back to the truck bed where he’d started to undo ties to the tarp that he’d spread across the back. When he pulled out all the rope he let down the tailgate and climbed up, pulling away the tarp to reveal his surprise. 

Tony’s eyes went wide as he took in the bed in the back, already made up with pillows and sheets, a picnic basket settled on it as well as a bag of non-essential gear he thought Tony might need like a cell phone power brick and flashlights and an optimistic bottle of lube plus the clothes he’d packed for them in the front. He’d managed to fold the tarp up well enough and tuck it into the side when Tony looked up at him, his eyes still wide with shock and wonder. 

“Bruce, you son of a bitch!” he cried, climbing up on the tailgate in one quick motion and dragging him in for a long-awaited kiss. 

Bruce simply let himself fall into it – relief eclipsing everything else, all of his excitement and anticipation and lust and desire, all of it. Tony was into it. It had all paid off. 

But it was a quick kiss, much quicker than Bruce had wanted, and he was left hanging there, open mouthed and starry eyed as Tony was toeing out of his shoes. 

“You should have told me, I would have showered better – but no – I wouldn’t have wanted to know, this is the best surprise, I can’t even fucking believe you did all this,” he babbled out excitedly, each word stuffing Bruce full with white-hot pleasure. “I knew I was dating the smartest guy in school but damn –  _ Bruce _ – I can’t believe this!” 

Bruce watched as he fell onto the bed, grinning up at him, and he felt paralyzed with joy. It was a strange feeling, nothing he had ever felt before. Fear made more sense, he was used to that. That iron fist that clenched in his gut, holding him hostage as he cowered in bed. But joy? It made no sense. He wanted this so fucking bad and now he had it and all he could do was stare. 

“Come here!” Tony laughed, beckoning him with his arms. “You’re part of the surprise too, right?” 

Bruce felt his lips curl up over his teeth and that was all it took to snap him out of it. He removed his shoes too, setting them at the end of the bed by the picnic basket then stepping on to shut the tailgate. It latched shut with a definitive clank and then Bruce was crawling up the mattress to fall down in Tony’s arms. 

Never had he been able to lay up against Tony like this, like a normal couple who could spend weekends grinding and making out on their parent's couch watching movies or whatever, and it felt so good, so much better than he’d even imagined. They fit together so naturally, so easily – Tony’s legs slipping in between his own, hooking together, hips aligned, kissing him, kissing him, kissing him, a hand all tangled in his hair and the other around his waist, feeling him breathing. Although neither of them had much experience, Tony was a fantastic kisser, and each slow swipe of his tongue through Bruce's mouth made Bruce yearn for more. 

He wanted to go slow, wanted to savor finally being able to be with him like this, but it was so difficult when every inch of his body was primed and poised and ready to be completely consumed by Tony. His hands couldn’t help but wander shakily up under Tony's shirt, feeling the grand expanse of his skin and the way his muscles rippled beneath it, warm and smooth until he reached the center of his chest and the smattering of hair there. And when his nimble fingers slipped over a nipple Tony gasped and it felt like he’d shoved a knife into his gut and twisted, painful and delicious and he wanted more. 

Tony’s hips were rocking against his thigh as he drug his shirt up his chest, exposing his beautiful skin and dark nipples. And following instinct and desire Bruce licked over and sucked on one as Tony cried out desperately, fingers clawing at his back and twisting in his shirt. 

“Fuck  _ Bruce _ – stop, stop,” he begged and Bruce pulled back, breathing hard, so that he could study Tony’s eyes and make sure he hadn’t hurt him – but Tony was only blushing and gasping in breaths and kind of smiling. 

“I’m already so fucking close,” he admitted, clearly embarrassed, and Bruce laughed, moving in to reclaim his mouth. 

Bruce could give a shit less how long it took as long as it felt good and he grabbed Tony’s ass, pressing their hips together even harder as Tony moaned and his thighs tightened around Bruce's own, reflexive and needy. 

But then he was pushing Bruce back again and Bruce didn’t understand. He wanted Tony to moan like that. Again and again and again. 

“Stop,” he said again, chest heaving. “I wanna ask – do you, ah... Do you have a condom?” 

Bruce stared at him in flat confusion for a minute. Of course he had thought about  _ that _ ... He figured he watched porn as much as most average seventeen year old guys and of course he imagined railing his boyfriend while masturbating but still – it wasn’t a topic they’d really breached.

Didn’t mean he didn’t have a condom though. 

“I um – yeah, I do,” Bruce admitted, embarrassed by how presumptuous that was even though Tony’s eyes lit up. 

“Could we – maybe – try that?” he asked hesitantly although he clearly wanted it.

“Are you sure?” Bruce asked back, not wanting him to feel any pressure about it even though he was the one that brought it up. 

“Oh yeah, I’m sure,” Tony said as leaned in and gave Bruce a soft little kiss, burying his face up against his so he wouldn’t have to look him straight in the eyes when he continued. “I don’t think we’ll have that many chances and I – I’ve been practicing.”

Somehow that surprised Bruce even more than the initial request and he laughed.

“With what?” he asked stupidly and Tony hugged him tighter, burying his face deeper against his neck as he huffed out his own embarrassed laugh. 

“My fingers you idiot,” he replied and Bruce felt dumb with that obvious reply. “This isn’t one of those horrible pornos where I’m stealing cucumbers from the refrigerator and dreaming about your dick – I know it’s not  _ that _ big. But – oh my god,  _ Bruce _ – this was  _ it _ , wasn’t it?”

Suddenly Tony was pulling away and he punched him in the shoulder and the quick change of topic confused him but he was used to that as Tony’s mind flitted from topic to topic exceedingly fast. 

“I thought when you bought this piece of shit and asked me to help you fix it up that it was just some way of hanging out with me during the summer or something, I don’t know, like I needed an excuse to hang out with you but I know how you think about yourself sometimes and I wasn’t going to say anything but this – this was it, wasn’t it? This is why you bought it, right? To do this?” 

Bruce could only nod shyly, a little surprised that Tony had figured it out. It sounded dumb said out loud, that he would buy a truck months ago and put all that time and energy into fixing it up just so he could put a bed in the back of it and spend the night with his boyfriend but even then, now he had a truck at least, so it was a plan with a lot of accessory benefits. 

“Holy shit – you really are the  _ best _ boyfriend,” Tony breathed out all at once as he smacked his lips back against Bruce's in a heated kiss. 

It was awkward and fumbling as Bruce tried to get Tony out of his clothes and Tony tried to get him out of his without breaking their kiss for very long. Bruce wanted to tease him, wanted to run featherlight fingers all over his hips and thighs and stomach and kiss him all over like in the movies but Tony was trembling with how badly he wanted to be touched and Bruce was on fire with how good it felt to feel him shaking beneath him.

“Fuck me,” Tony asked at last when they were finally, blessedly naked, hot skin tempered by the cool autumn air. “ _ Please _ .”

Bruce wasn’t going to make him beg if that’s what he wanted and he moved down to get the bag, pulling out the lube and a package of wipes he’d brought to wipe up cum and a condom from his wallet. 

Tony was watching him from down across his body and he spread his legs, biting his lower lip anxiously as Bruce settled down between his knees. 

“Shame you were never a Boy Scout,” Tony joked to cut the tension as he noted the supplies Bruce brought with him and Bruce tried not to blush. 

“Shut up,” he mumbled as he took the lube and Tony sat up, reaching for his hand. 

“It’ll feel good,” Tony assured him, rubbing his palm and then kissing his wrist. “I... I really like fingers.” 

Although it clearly embarrassed him to say it, the admission went a long way to reassuring Bruce and he snapped the lid on the lube, pouring some in his hand and running his fingers through it as Tony lay back down.

With Tony’s legs spread he could see everything as well as he was going to and he scooted forward a little, reaching down beneath Tony's balls to seek out his target, listening to the way Tony gasped when he hit it. He worked his index finger in slowly, listening to Tony moaning softly as he did, and it was nearly impossible not to wrap a hand around his own dick. The little sounds Tony was making as he slipped his finger in and out of that unbelievably tight heat were somehow a hundred thousand times better than any porn he’d ever watched and now he was the one who felt too close to go on. Maybe he was going to manage to fuck Tony, but he couldn’t imagine he’d last more than a few thrusts before he was done. 

“‘Kay Bruce,” Tony managed, eyes opening to look down at him as his breathing came more evenly now. “Add another.” 

_ How?  _ Bruce wanted to ask because Tony was still so goddamn tight but he didn’t. Instead he just put his middle finger up against his index finger and pressed it in carefully. 

Tony’s head fell back on the pillows and he groaned out an encouraging, “ _ fuck _ yeah.”

Somehow Tony’s body managed to accommodate the extra finger after a moment and loosen up around it a little. It was becoming difficult to think about anything other than the feeling of Tony tight around him and the sounds he was making and Bruce would have been content to just finger fuck him to orgasm but Tony clearly had other ideas as he reached for his hand, getting him to stop and breathing heavy. 

“Can you... get a little more lube and add another?” he asked, his eyes hesitant and soft and it was rare to see Tony so open and unsure and Bruce was pretty sure he would do anything for Tony when he looked at him like that so he nodded and kissed his knee reassuringly. 

He put more lube on his fingers and then found his hole again, pressing three inside – which was awkward as hell and a little difficult because he was still so damn tight but Bruce managed and Tony tried in vain to spread his legs wider and get more. 

“God –  _ fuck _ ,” he moaned, clearly trying not to be as loud as he wanted to be and risk drawing unnecessary attention to them because even though they were up in a construction site there were other neighborhoods around. “You have  _ no idea _ how good that feels.”

The knife Tony had lodged in his stomach earlier twisted again with that admission and right then, leaning over Tony with his fingers in his ass, he suddenly wanted nothing more than to be buried deep inside him. 

“Bruce, Bruce,” he pleaded and Bruce realized Tony’s hand was clutching at his wrist. “Stop, I – stop. I want you in me when I come.” 

“Fuck,” Bruce muttered, pulling his hand out and wiping at his sweaty forehead with the other, looking down at his ridiculously handsome boyfriend with lust-laden eyes. 

“You want that too... right?” Tony asked carefully and Bruce swallowed hard and nodded eagerly, watching as that reaction prompted a smile from Tony.

“You’re going to need a lot of lube,” he said as his hands reached for the condom, tearing open the little foil packet and sitting up to help slip the condom on his dick. 

Despite their lack of experience, Bruce had put on a condom before, testing out the size to make sure they fit like the dork that he was. He wondered if Tony ever had. He knew Tony got a handjob off a girl at a party sophomore year and kissed a few girls too but it had never really bothered him. In fact, Bruce had rarely ever thought about first times or anything like that, didn’t assume it mattered that much if the other person wanted you. But as Tony’s fingers slid latex film down his dick and their eyes met, this felt monumental. This was it, this was the most intimate thing he could do with Tony and he was going to do it. Tony was going to let him do that to him. Tony  _ wanted _ him to do it to him. 

His jaw ached with how much he wanted to tell him he loved him but he forced it back as Tony lay back down and got comfortable again. And Bruce slicked his dick in lube to the point that it was dripping down his balls but he didn’t care, he didn’t want to hurt Tony, and it seemed impossible to believe that he was going to fit in there. 

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said at last after several long moments of hesitation and Tony propped himself up to look over at him. 

“I promise I’ll tell you if it starts to hurt, okay?” Tony offered and Bruce told himself that he had no reason not to believe him and so he reached down between his legs again, feeling him out so he could line himself up correctly. 

“Down a little,” Tony whispered as he adjusted. “Ah, yeah – yeah, there.”

Breaching that tight muscle was a little nerve wracking for Bruce but he did and paused, watching Tony’s face as he panted out anxious little breaths and then looked up at Bruce when realized he’d stopped. 

“Feels weird,” he admitted, giving him a cute, lopsided smile. “But it’s okay. It doesn’t hurt.” 

“You sure?” Bruce asked, breathless. 

“Yeah. Yeah, go all the way.” 

Bruce pushed in a little further, slowly, feeling Tony expand around him and he grit his teeth as Tony breathed in suddenly and his hands balled into fists. 

“Oh,  _ wow _ ,” he gasped, shimmying beneath him a little, trying to get more, and it sent Bruce’s confidence soaring enough to push in all the way. 

When he finally bottomed out he stopped again, breathing hard, and it took every ounce of his limited self-restraint not to come right then and there. 

“Still okay?” Bruce asked carefully and Tony laughed, reaching up for him with needy hands. 

“Still weird,” Tony answered honestly. “But good weird.” 

Bruce kissed him then and it felt so deep, so intimate, buried in his body, naked and exposed, hiding out in the back of a pickup truck under nothing but the cover of stars. Tony’s skin was soft and smelled of stale sweat and his body was warm beneath his own and in his mouth and around his dick. 

“I love you,” he whispered guiltily against his lips as Tony pet his wild hair like it was somehow possible to tame it.

“I know,” Tony replied as he kissed him again and Bruce didn’t blame him at all. 

He didn’t need to hear it back. They both knew how bad it could hurt. And Bruce knew Tony loved him too – he didn’t  _ need _ to say it. But Bruce just – he couldn’t help it. The feelings surging within him were so strong he felt helpless to fight it. And he did love Tony. He loved him so, so much. More than was reasonable. More than he should. At this point no matter what he did, it was going to hurt, whether he said it or not. 

Bruce pulled out a little and Tony gasped against his mouth, sending a shiver down his spine. 

“Good?” he asked and Tony quickly replied, “oh yeah, super good!” 

So he pushed in again, trying to figure out just how far he had before he’d accidentally pull out, but  _ wow _ , that felt  _ amazing _ . Bruce was helpless to do anything other than hold himself up and move his hips desperately into Tony. And Tony was huffing pleased little whines into Bruce’s shoulder as he fucked into him, clutching at his back and bringing his knees up tight against Bruce’s hips like he was trying to get even closer despite the fact they physically couldn’t be any closer than they were right then.

“Aw yeah, Bruce,” Tony sighed into his skin. “Yeah, that’s good, fuck – yeah, that’s – that’s  _ amazing _ ...”

Tony was always more vocal than him but he couldn’t imagine doing anything more than moaning uselessly until he came. But Tony came first, rubbed off on Bruce’s abs, and the sensation of cum across his stomach and the way Tony gasped and moaned and the feeling of his body tensing around him made it impossible for Bruce to do anything other than fall along behind him. 

Bruce muffled his cry into Tony’s skin as his hips pumped weakly a few final times, collapsing into Tony, holding his neck and cradling him close as he kissed at his jaw, dragging his lips through the sweat on his neck and trying not to cry. 

“Bruce,” he whispered, running his fingers through his hair and turning his head so that he could kiss his lips. “Bruce – hey, are you okay?” 

He nodded quickly and sniffled, trying to force down his tears. It wasn’t – he wasn’t sad or anything. He was – he was so  _ happy _ . It was just so much. He never thought he could be so happy. But in that moment, he was. And it overwhelmed him.

Bruce tried to get himself together as he sat to clean them up, wiping at his eyes. And then there was an awkward moment where Bruce felt embarrassed and unsure but Tony didn’t. Tony reached out for him and drug him back into his arms, smiling at him all the way through his eyes. 

“Was it okay?” he asked, his eyes timid. 

“Uh,  _ yeah _ ,” Bruce chuckled, touching his face with his fingertips. “Was it okay for you?” 

“Yeah,” Tony said, grinning broadly. “It was definitely weird and I’m a little sore but... it felt really good and I – I hope we’ll get to do it again.” 

Bruce’s lips ticked up as he blushed. “You’ll spend the night with me again?” 

“Oh  _ hell _ yeah!” Tony declared, pulling him close and kissing him hard. “Totally worth oweing Steve a favor or, like, twenty.” 

“I sure hope so,” Bruce huffed and Tony kissed him again, savoring it and they relished in laying naked together for the first time. 

They both laughed a little, like they couldn’t believe it, and Bruce touched him gently, running his hand across his side as they kissed. And Tony reciprocated, running a rough palm over his chest and his abs, up across his hip, exploring all the little dips and divots he had never had the chance to before. It was all new and it was all wonderful and Bruce wanted to kiss him until he couldn’t think straight any more and then keep kissing him until he knew every inch of his skin by heart.

“You really are the smartest, bestest, most awesomest boyfriend ever – you know that right?” Tony murmured, mesmerized, as Bruce pushed him over onto his back and kissed his neck, his chest, his stomach. “I’m so lucky you said yes.” 

Bruce paused in his exploration of Tony’s body and caught his eyes, open and vulnerable in a way Tony usually wasn’t. But he had been that day, almost year ago, when Bruce showed up to school in a hoodie, hopelessly trying to cover another black eye with his long hair and the hood pulled tight. Tony was the only one who never asked, who never treated him any differently. But that day he was looking at him so strangely all through class and he followed him into the bathroom between classes where they could be alone a minute and Bruce braced himself for what kind of bullshit he was going to have to deal with –  _ talk to someone _ , as if that ever helped, or maybe  _ what can I do _ , like there was anything anyone could do. 

But Tony didn’t do any of that. Instead he stood there, shuffling his feet, and he said _ I really like you, Bruce, like... I like like you, a lot, and I think you like me too  _ and Bruce stood there, blindsided, unable to believe that  _ that _ was a conversation Tony wanted to have with him at all, let alone right then. 

And maybe he would have thought it was pity thing, something Tony didn’t really mean, some weird way of trying to make him feel better about the fact that his dad routinely used him as stress relief, but then Tony leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, right where his dad had hit him, and then blushed bright red and rushed from the bathroom to their next class as the warning bell rang.

Bruce’s stomach was a mess when he walked into AP Calc I and he caught sight of Tony laughing too loud with the girl sitting next to him as he took his seat in the back. But he pulled out his phone, watching the back of Tony’s head, and he typed out one simple word –  _ okay _ . And Tony read the text under his desk then turned around and flashed him the biggest, happiest smile Bruce had ever seen and his stomach lurched again but it didn’t hurt. For once it didn’t hurt.

“You knew I was going to say yes,” Bruce argued with a grin as he climbed back on top of him, lowering himself on Tony’s body to kiss him again.

“I didn’t  _ know _ ,” Tony argued back but he was grinning too with his arms around Bruce’s shoulders as Bruce cradled his head. 

“You knew,” he said and kissed at his grin. 

“I might have had an idea,” Tony admitted. “But only because you’re such a romantic bastard, always following me around, making sure you had extra pencils and granola bars and shit for me.” 

“Wow,” Bruce teased, “your standards are so low.”

“Worked out for you though,” Tony teased back, pulling him into another kiss.

Truthfully, he was glad Tony recognized and appreciated all his little efforts. He never thought Tony would be interested in  _ him _ , despite all his attention. Then when it turned out that Tony  _ was _ , he never thought he'd be able to woo him in any meaningful way. But it turned out that Tony didn't really care about money and grand gestures, what he wanted was someone to listen. What he wanted was someone to care. And Bruce cared. He cared a lot.

“You don’t even know how romantic I am,” he joked as he sat up, moving down the bed to get the picnic basket as Tony pulled up the sheets and got underneath, propping himself up on the pillows against the back of the truck as Bruce brought it over to him. “I made sandwiches and oatmeal raisin cookies.”

“You  _ made _ cookies?” Tony asked, his eyes lighting up as Bruce joined him, handing him a bottle of water as he took out a tupperware of cookies. 

“Hopefully they’re okay,” Bruce said hesitantly as Tony stole the whole tupperware from him, peeling open the lid without reservation and instantly downed one. 

“Umphh they’re good!” Tony declared with a mouthful as he eagerly picked up another and Bruce couldn’t help but smile and lean into him, resting his head on his shoulder. 

Tony wrapped his arm around Bruce’s shoulder, shifting the cookies to the side but still within his reach as he stared up at the sky, chewing thoughtfully. 

“I know we talked about trying to get a room one day but this is kinda better than a hotel, even,” Tony offered as he swallowed, picking up another cookie. “Look at the stars.”

Bruce looked up from where he was tucked up against Tony’s neck. There was less light pollution up here, not by a lot, but by enough that there were definitely more stars visible than he was used to. He reached around Tony’s waist, holding him tightly as he stared up at the stars. 

He could hear Tony’s heart beating through his chest and he could feel his warm arm around his shoulders and his legs against his beneath the sheets and he could smell his skin and feel him breathing and he knew even if everything fell apart he would never forget this. It was perfect. 

Tony brought his hand up to stroke through Bruce’s curls, wrapping his arm protectively around his head as he pressed his lips to his temple, abandoning the cookies to snuggle up closer to him, to hold him closer.

“I hope you to know that I, well, you know. I – I feel the same about you, too,” Tony whispered and the knife Tony had lodged in his gut was so deep now Bruce couldn’t breathe without feeling it and what was another twist? It was exquisite. It was divine. 

It didn’t even matter that he hadn’t said it. They were just in high school and Bruce knew ‘I love you’ meant nothing but also? It meant everything. It was everything. Everything he wanted to, _ needed _to hear from someone, and his throat constricted with the pain of it as he squeezed Tony tighter and he whispered back – 

“I know.”


End file.
